Lost !
by Spicetwist
Summary: When Lesley Lu disappears on a camping trip in the mountains, Luke and Laura set out to find her.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, nor do I have any association with ABC.  
  
Summery: When Lesley Lu disappears on a camping trip in the mountains, Luke and Laura set out to find her.  
  
  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Laura was in her office signing contracts when Luke walked in. She didn't notice him until he was standing right in front of her desk.  
  
"Luke, I didn't hear you come in," she said. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I have some great news. How would you like to take a little trip?"  
  
"A trip? Where?"  
  
"A camping trip to the mountains," he said.  
  
"Did you just decide this today? I mean, how come you haven't mentioned this before?"  
  
"I didn't know anything about it till today. Bobbie just called me. One of the nurses at the hospital was supposed to go on this trip with her family. Her son got sick and they can't go. Since the cabin was paid for she offered it to Bobbie for the week."  
  
"And Bobbie asked us to go with her, right?" Laura asked.  
  
"You got it! She and Scott are taking Lucas and wants the two of us, Lulu, Lesley, Lucky and Nikolas to go."  
  
"That's great! We've never had a family vacation before. Luke, are you ok with Nikolas going?"  
  
Luke was silent for a moment. "Yes, I'm fine with it. I know how much it would mean to you."  
  
She smiled at him.  
  
"Thanks Luke. When do we leave?"  
  
"Early Saturday morning."  
  
"I can't wait to tell Lulu. She'll be so excited. She's never been camping before and was so upset that she had to miss her troops campout a few weeks ago."  
  
"Well, if you're ready to head home, I can give you a ride."  
  
Laura stood up and nodded. She turned out the lights, dropped the contracts on Elton's desk and walked out with Luke's arm around her. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
Saturday morning, Lulu sat on the front steps waiting for Bobbie and the others to arrive.  
  
Inside the house Laura and Lesley were making sure that they had everything. Luke was not helping at all. He was just sitting there watching them.  
  
"That's all of it," Lesley said at last. "I'm going outside to keep an eye on Lesley Lu."  
  
"Ok, Mom," Laura said.  
  
She turned to Luke.  
  
"Luke, I'm so proud of you," she said.  
  
"What did I do?"  
  
"You agreed to go on this trip, knowing that Scott was going too."  
  
"Baldwin is going?" he asked pretending to be surprised.  
  
Laura laughed.  
  
"I'm happy that you are making an effort to at least be civil to him."  
  
"Oh, then I guess I have to give up my plan to push him off the mountain right?"  
  
"Luke!"  
  
"I'm joking!" he said laughing.  
  
She shook her head at him and laughed.  
  
"They're here!" Lulu shouted from the porch.  
  
Luke and Laura picked up their bags and carried them to the van Bobbie had rented.  
  
"I'm looking forward to this Luke," Laura said as they climbed into the van. "We haven't had a peaceful week for a long time." 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Three days later they parked the vans in front of the cabin.  After spending so much time on the road, they were all glad to get out and stretch their legs.  While the adults walked inside to check out the cabin, Michael, Lucas and Lesley Lu began to run around in the yard.

"Don't wander off," Bobbie yelled to them.

The adults walked around the cabin and decided where everyone was going to sleep.

After about fifteen minutes Lesley said, "I guess we better start unloading the vans."

"Bobbie," Scott said, "you, Laura and Lesley get us settled in, Nikolas and I will carry in the bags and Lucky and Luke can gather firewood."

"Fine with me," Luke said.  ""Come on Lucky."

Lucky followed him outside.

"Dad, I can't believe that you just let him tell you what to do."

"Normally I would have said something, but in this case I wouldn't dream of missing the look on Baldwin's face when he goes to unload our van."

"What did you do?" Lucky asked with a grin.  He knew Luke was up to somethng.

"I didn't do anything.  I just know that your mother packed all the bags that we brought with us."

He noticed the confused look on Lucky's face.

"Lucky, you  know how your mother is prone to overpacking.  Do you realize how much those bags weigh?"

Lucky had to laugh.  He and Luke knew what to expect when Laura packed but he was guessing that Scott didn't.  

They hid in the bushes and watched as Scott pulled one of Laura's bags out.  He wasn't prepared for the weight and fell backwards with the bag landing on him.  Nikolas picked it up and pulled it off him.  Luke and Lucky went off, into the woods to get firewood, shaking with laughter.

Inside Laura and Bobbie were putting things away in the kitchen while Lesley got the bedrooms ready.  Lucas came running into the kitchen.

"Mom!  Aunt Laura!" he yelled.

"Calm down Lucas.  Now, what's wrong?" Bobbie asked.

"Right after you went inside Lulu chased a rabbit into the woods.

"Lucas, that isn't anything to worry about.  That little rabbit is faster than you think.  She can't catch it."

"Mom!  It's not the rabbit I'm worried about, Lulu never came back."

Bobbie gasped and Laura dropped the glass she was putting away.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**  
  
Laura and Bobbie ran outside.  
  
"Lesley Lu! Lesley Lu!" they shouted. They went in opposite directions around the cabin.  
  
Scott and Nikolas heard them yelling.  
  
"Mom, what's wrong?" Nikolas asked running up to Laura.  
  
"Lesley Lu is missing. Lucas said she ran into the woods after a rabbit and never came back."  
  
Luke and Lucky came back with an armload of wood. At the same time, Lesley came outside to see what all the shouting was about.  
  
"Luke, Lesley Lu missing!" Laura yelled as she saw him. He dropped the wood he was holding and Laura told him the rest.  
  
"Ok, don't panic. We'll find her. Lucas!" Luke said.  
  
Lucas and Michael came running up to them.  
  
"Which way did Lulu go?"  
  
Lucas led them back to the front of the cabin and pointed to the path that split into three directions not too far into the woods..  
  
"Ok, we'll start there and branch out. Lucky, you and Nikolas go to the right. Bobbie, you and Baldwin go to the left. Laura you and I will go straight. Lesley you stay here and watch Lucas and Michael.  
  
"Ok," said Lesley. "That way someone will be here if she comes back on her own."  
  
They took off into the woods. Lesley sat down on the steps and watched Lucas and Michael playing. She could hear the others calling for Lulu for a long time. Their voices getting fainter and fainter. A half an hour had soon passed.  
  
"I'm hungry," Michael said running up to her.  
  
Lesley stood up. "Lucas, come on inside," she said not wanting to let either of them out of her sight.  
  
They walked into the kitchen and at the table sat Lesley Lu.  
  
"Where have you been?" Lesley asked her.  
  
"Outside."  
  
Lesley saw the back door standing open. She realized that while they were all standing around in the front yard, Lesley Lu must have came in the back door.  
  
After an hour, all the search parties came back to the cabin to see if she had been found. All except Luke and Laura.  
  
  
   
  
  
  



	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**  
  
Luke walked along holding Laura's hand to steady her on the rocky terrain. "Lesley Lu!"  
  
"What if we don't find her?" Laura asked.  
  
"We will. If we don't, one of the others will," he said reassuringly.  
  
They had been walking for hours and it was beginning to rain.  
  
"She's so little Luke. I hate to think of her out here alone."  
  
"She'll be fine. She's tough, she's a Spencer."  
  
Laura smiled weakly. She knew that Luke was trying to make her feel better, but she could tell that he was worried too.  
  
The rain started falling harder and it was beginning to thunder.  
  
"Do you think we should turn back?" Luke asked.  
  
"No! I'm not going back without my daughter!"  
  
Luke nodded. He didn't want to go back either, but he was worried about Laura.  
  
The path was becoming slippery and narrow. There was a sharp drop off to the right.  
  
"Be careful," Luke said, but his warning was too late.  
  
Laura had stepped to close to the edge and the ground had given way beneath her. She screamed and she slid down the steep hill.  
  
"Laura!" Luke yelled as she hit the bottom. She was laying very still and did not respond.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**  
  
"Laura!" Luke yelled again. She still didn't answer him.  
  
Luke looked frantically around for a way down to her, but there was no way to climb down.  
  
He knew he had no choice so he did the only thing he could think of. He sat down and allowed himself to slide down the side of the hill. He jumped off at the bottom to keep from landing on top of Laura.  
  
"Laura?" he said shaking her gently. "Laura?"  
  
Laura groaned and opened her eyes. With great difficulty and Luke's help, she managed to sit up.  
  
"What happened?" she asked. She looked around and saw where she was. "Oh yeah, I fell down the hill didn't I."  
  
"Well let's just say that you took the fast way down," Luke teased , relieved that she seemed to be all right.  
  
Laura laughed, then groaned with pain.  
  
Luke was instantly concerned and checking her out. "What's the matter. Is it your head?"  
  
"No, my arm."  
  
Luke ran his hand gently along her arm. He saw the look of pain on her face. "Laura, I think its broken."  
  
"Great! Just what I need."  
  
Luke looked around and gathered two of the straightest sticks he could find. "Take off your shirt," he said.  
  
"Why? Can't I just roll up the sleeve?"  
  
"Trust me," he said.  
  
She nodded. He helped her to get it off then picked up the shirt and cut the sleeves off with his pocket knife.  
  
"What did you do that for?" she asked.  
  
"You'll see," he said. He helped her put the rest of her shirt back on. Then he used the sleeves to tie the sticks on each side of her wrist to make a splint.  
  
"Where did you learn to do that?" she asked.  
  
"Where else, in the movies."  
  
"Luke, why couldn't you use your shirt?"  
  
"Because we need my shirt for this," he said taking his shirt off. He tied the sleeves around her neck and let the rest hang in front of her as a sling. He gently placed her arm in it.  
  
"Thank you," she said smiling at him. He gave her a gentle kiss.  
  
"Do you think you can walk?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Well let's see if we can find a way back up," he said. He took Laura's uninjured and they followed the narrow trail.


	7. Chapter 7

  
**Chapter 7**  
  
They walked along the trail for about half an hour. There seemed to be no way to get back up the hill.  
  
"Luke... I have to... rest a minute," Laura said sounding out of breath.  
  
"Ok," Luke said letting go of her hand and sitting down.  
  
Laura sat down on a rock near him. The rain had almost let up.   
  
"Do you think any of the others found Lulu?" Laura asked.  
  
"Yeah. I'm sure they have by now. They're probably all sitting around the cabin wondering where we are."  
  
Laura laughed. "You're right. They've found her. There's nothing to worry about."  
  
Laura looked up at Luke and noticed the worried look on his face.   
  
"Luke? What's wrong?"  
  
He didn't answer. He just kept staring at the ground next to him. Laura followed his gaze and saw a snake poised to strike. She had to help him, but she didn't know how.  
  
Laura sat thinking for a moment, keeping her eyes on the snake. She finally got an idea. She moved her hand slowly into her pocket. She didn't want to spook the snake for Luke's sake.  
  
She pulled her compact out of her pocket. Luke looked at her with a confused look. Laura managed to catch the sunlight in the mirror and directed it at the snake. Luke smiled and nodded slightly as he caught on to the fact that she was trying to blind the snake so he could get away.  
  
He watched till the sunlight was directed right into the snake's eyes, then moved quickly off the rock. He picked up the another large rock and dropped it on the snake, crushing it.  
  
Laura dropped the compact and ran into Luke's arms.  
  
"Are you all right?" she asked.  
  
"Yes, thanks to you. That was quick thinking," he said hugging her. Luke exhaled sharply. "Have you rested enough?"  
  
Laura nodded. She took his hand and they began to walk again. Her compact lay forgotten on the ground.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

It had been almost twelve hours since Luke and Laura had left the cabin to search for Lulu.  Lucky was beginning to worry.  He had been pacing back and forth in the cabin for the last two hours.  He stopped pacing every few minutes to look out the window.

Bobbie came into the room.  She stood in the doorway watching him for a few minutes.  "You know you're going to wear a grove in the floor with all that pacing," she finally said.

Lucky stopped pacing and turned to face her.  He took a deep breath before he spoke.  "I'm worried about Mom and Dad."

Bobbie smiled at him as she walked the rest of the way into the room.  "I'm sure they're all right.  Your father is smart and tough.  He's always been able to take care of himself and your mother."

Lucky nodded.  "I know that Dad knows how to take care of himself and that he always takes care of Mom, but that's against people like Frank Smith and the Cassadines.  This is different.  There are wild animals out there.  Anything could happen to them," he said looking out the window again.  "At least it's not raining anymore."

Bobbie walked over to the window and looked out.  "I think you may be right.  Maybe we should go look for them.  I'll get the others."  

She walked out of the room.  A few minutes later she returned with Scott and Nikolas.

"Lesley's going to watch the kids," Bobbie said.

"Let's split up into groups of two.  We can cover more ground that way.  Bobbie, you and Scott team up.  Nikolas you're with me," Lucky said.

"Wait!" Nikolas said.  He ran out of the room and came back with a pair of walkie- talkies.  "If you find them, call us," he said handing one of them to Scott.

They headed out into the woods.  About an hour later Lucky saw something in a clearing.  "Nikolas, look!"

Nikolas turned and saw Lucky bending over looking at something on the ground.  "That's mom's compact," he said.  "Should we call the others?"

"Yeah, I think so," Lucky said looking worried.  "Look at this.  It's blood."  He was pointing at a red puddle on the ground.

Nikolas picked up the walkie-talkie and called Scott.  A few minutes later Scott and Bobbie showed up.

Nikolas showed Bobbie the compact.  Lucky noticed that Scott was looking at something else.  He walked over to him.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Tracks," Scott said with a look of fear on his face.  "You said you found Laura's compact?  Are you… are you sure its hers?"

"Yes, it's the one we gave her for her birthday.  It's got an inscription on it.  Why?  What's wrong?" Lucky asked.

"These tracks were made by a mountain lion," Scott said looking at Lucky.  They both looked at the compact and the puddle of blood.


End file.
